Raymond Bell was still in the hospital when we returned to Phoenix.<\/p>\n
Victor and Judith were in custody.<\/p>\n
Aaron Pike remained detained.<\/p>\n
Renee was cooperating.<\/p>\n
For the first time since Victor appeared on my porch, nearly everyone involved was somewhere police could find them.<\/p>\n
That should have felt safe.<\/p>\n
Instead, Laura\u2019s final sentence followed me all the way north.<\/p>\n
Judith knows about Marianne, but she doesn\u2019t know the whole truth.<\/p>\n
Bell looked exhausted when Elaine and I entered his hospital room.<\/p>\n
A bruise darkened one cheek.<\/p>\n
Bandages covered the cut near his hairline.<\/p>\n
His eyes went immediately to my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJudith?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled a chair toward the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me how Marianne Carver died.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes opened again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura\u2019s recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
That frightened him.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Judith didn\u2019t know the whole truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell stared at the ceiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond.\u201d<\/p>\n
He flinched at his first name.<\/p>\n
I had always called him Dr. Bell in my memories.<\/p>\n
He no longer deserved the distance of a title.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was silent so long I thought he might refuse.<\/p>\n
Then he said:<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel had told us she underwent fertility treatment.<\/p>\n
That fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far along?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe developed an infection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom your treatment?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came without qualification.<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
He continued.<\/p>\n
Marianne had undergone a procedure at the clinic.<\/p>\n
Sterility protocols failed.<\/p>\n
She developed fever and pain within days.<\/p>\n
Judith called Bell repeatedly.<\/p>\n
Bell initially believed the symptoms were manageable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wanted them to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was not medicine.<\/p>\n
That was arrogance.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you examine her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI prescribed antibiotics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clinic had already had another complication that month.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf losing a patient?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n
My disgust must have shown.<\/p>\n
He did not defend himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did she go to the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToo late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marianne developed sepsis.<\/p>\n
The pregnancy was lost.<\/p>\n
Then Marianne died.<\/p>\n
Judith blamed Bell.<\/p>\n
Correctly, at least in part.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat didn\u2019t Judith know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe instruments weren\u2019t contaminated accidentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned his face toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone tampered with the sterilization equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you learned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a second, I thought I had misunderstood.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Hale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell explained that before Hale-Briggs Construction existed formally, Victor performed contract renovation work at the clinic.<\/p>\n
Plumbing.<\/p>\n
Electrical.<\/p>\n
Ventilation.<\/p>\n
He had access to treatment rooms and utility areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he sabotage sterilization equipment?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t intend to hurt Marianne.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed at the repetition.<\/p>\n
Nobody intended the deaths their reckless acts made possible.<\/p>\n
Victor did not intend to kill Laura.<\/p>\n
Bell did not intend Marianne to die.<\/p>\n
Harold did not intend his secrets to become weapons.<\/p>\n
Intent had become everyone\u2019s favorite hiding place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Victor intend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo frighten me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell had owed Victor for renovation work.<\/p>\n
A substantial amount.<\/p>\n
Bell was expanding too quickly and struggling with cash.<\/p>\n
Victor demanded payment.<\/p>\n
Bell delayed.<\/p>\n
Victor threatened to shut down parts of the clinic.<\/p>\n
Then something happened to a sterilization unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he admit it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe disabled a heating component.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing medical instruments were processed there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe claimed he thought the unit had a backup.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Marianne was treated using instruments from that cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Judith know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believed you caused the failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI caused everything around it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell\u2019s voice hardened against himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept the clinic running when I should have stopped procedures. I failed to recognize Marianne\u2019s infection quickly enough. Victor\u2019s sabotage began the chain. My decisions allowed it to become fatal.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was more complicated than Judith\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
But not kinder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you discover Victor did it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter he became Victor\u2019s partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell explained that Harold found an old invoice dispute among Victor\u2019s business papers.<\/p>\n
Attached was a handwritten note referencing the clinic\u2019s sterilizer.<\/p>\n
Harold confronted Victor.<\/p>\n
Victor admitted disabling the component but insisted he had not known a patient would be harmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Harold tell Judith?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor threatened him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s conception became the lever that kept every earlier secret sealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Harold tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you still went into business indirectly through Redstone with Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI trusted Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou violated his wife without her consent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou fathered his child through deception.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd somehow he became someone you trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t trust me because I deserved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Harold believed someone had to make me repair what I had done.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded painfully like my husband.<\/p>\n
He could hold a grudge for twenty years over a borrowed drill and still spend those same twenty years helping the person who borrowed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept you close.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo monitor you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make you contribute to Redstone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first because I was afraid of exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater because he was right.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not offer absolution.<\/p>\n
Bell continued.<\/p>\n
After Thomas Mercer discovered Jonathan\u2019s conception history, Thomas insisted that Bell establish a meaningful fund for affected families.<\/p>\n
Harold structured the investments.<\/p>\n
Thomas provided initial capital.<\/p>\n
Bell transferred property and investments.<\/p>\n
Other settlements were folded in where legally possible.<\/p>\n
Redstone grew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw assets moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd thought Harold was stealing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell laughed weakly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause telling Victor meant telling him about Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Secrets breeding secrets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Laura discover about Marianne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything except Victor\u2019s involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJudith showed her Marianne\u2019s medical file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo prove I was dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura believed her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe found Harold\u2019s notes suggesting someone else caused the equipment failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she knew Judith\u2019s story was incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know Victor was responsible?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she knew he damaged her car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two separate acts.<\/p>\n
Seventeen years apart.<\/p>\n
One man repeatedly trying to control situations through intimidation.<\/p>\n
First Bell.<\/p>\n
Then his own daughter.<\/p>\n
Each time believing consequences would remain limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Harold ever tell Victor his sabotage contributed to Marianne\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years after Laura died.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same confrontation where Harold revealed he knew about Laura\u2019s brakes.<\/p>\n
No wonder Victor spiraled.<\/p>\n
In one conversation, Harold may have forced him to face responsibility for two women\u2019s deaths.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor denied Marianne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Laura?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe admitted the brake line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen threatened Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t Harold go to police?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell\u2019s eyes moved toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor had copies of your fertility consent records.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would expose Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold chose our privacy over justice for Marianne.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell did not answer.<\/p>\n
He did not need to.<\/p>\n
My anger at Harold returned.<\/p>\n
Not because I stopped loving him.<\/p>\n
Because loving him no longer required defending every decision he made.<\/p>\n
He had been wrong.<\/p>\n
He should have told me.<\/p>\n
He should have told police.<\/p>\n
He should have trusted Daniel.<\/p>\n
He should have trusted truth before secrecy became currency.<\/p>\n
A knock sounded.<\/p>\n
Daniel entered.<\/p>\n
He had heard enough from the doorway to understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad knew Victor caused Marianne\u2019s death?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered before Bell could.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of choices Harold made.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the secret was me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were never the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
I moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour conception was something adults lied about. You were not the lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou understand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost smiled through the emotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t the lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell turned his face away.<\/p>\n
Perhaps because those words condemned him more effectively than anger.<\/p>\n
Daniel asked:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens to Victor now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice decide charges,\u201d Elaine said from the doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old crash investigation will be reopened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarianne?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJudith?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancial crimes, obstruction, possible blackmail, evidence destruction. More depending on what investigators establish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Renee?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered immediately.<\/p>\n
That was not a police question alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has she been charged with?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elaine said prosecutors were evaluating her role.<\/p>\n
She had provided records.<\/p>\n
She had admitted unauthorized access to documents.<\/p>\n
She had helped Victor investigate Harold.<\/p>\n
But evidence also showed she later tried to expose him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCooperation matters,\u201d Elaine said.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t change what she did to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoesn\u2019t mean I want her in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both could be true.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need air.\u201d<\/p>\n
I followed him into the hospital corridor.<\/p>\n
He leaned against a window overlooking the parking lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad would hate this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich part?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe created part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
A week earlier he might have defended Harold automatically.<\/p>\n
Now he could love his father without turning him into a saint.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you going to do about Renee?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked her to stay somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019ll want an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether I can ever look at her without wondering what she\u2019s hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Trust was not repaired by discovering why someone lied.<\/p>\n
Sometimes understanding made betrayal easier to describe and no easier to live with.<\/p>\n
His phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
He looked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSophie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes she know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat have you told them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat their mother and I are dealing with something serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m taking them home tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeed help?\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost said no.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That one word felt like progress.<\/p>\n
Help requested.<\/p>\n
Not assumed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n
We returned to Bell\u2019s room.<\/p>\n
Elaine had another document open.<\/p>\n
Her expression was unusual.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestigators finished reviewing Harold\u2019s Redstone trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already know Mom owns the economic interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the control provision depended on finding Rachel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel\u2019s identity has now been legally verified.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elaine looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe control trust activates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho controls it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned the document.<\/p>\n
Harold had named three successor trustees.<\/p>\n
Margaret Briggs.<\/p>\n
Daniel Briggs.<\/p>\n
Rachel Boone.<\/p>\n
Joint control.<\/p>\n
My son stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad put me on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven after everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLong before everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I read Harold\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n
No major Redstone asset could be sold without two trustees agreeing.<\/p>\n
Funds designated for restitution could not be diverted to personal use.<\/p>\n
The trust required an independent investigation into Bell\u2019s clinic and a process for identifying affected families.<\/p>\n
Harold had built a mechanism that did not depend on any one person\u2019s judgment.<\/p>\n
Not Bell.<\/p>\n
Not Rachel.<\/p>\n
Not Daniel.<\/p>\n
Not me.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he had finally learned what secrecy did when one person controlled too much truth.<\/p>\n
Then Elaine pointed lower.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s another clause.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Raymond Bell is alive when the trust activates, he must provide a sworn disclosure of every known affected patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell looked toward us.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if I refuse?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elaine read.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour remaining Redstone interests transfer entirely into the restitution trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, I smiled too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Bell said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t refuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll name everyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven publicly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivately first. Through counsel. With consent protections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elaine nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll do whatever the trustees require.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to tell him that nothing he did now could repair what happened to me.<\/p>\n
Instead, I said:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll do what the affected families require.\u201d<\/p>\n
He lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Susan Calloway.<\/p>\n
The realtor.<\/p>\n
I almost ignored it.<\/p>\n
Then answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret, I\u2019m sorry to bother you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone has made an offer on Willow Creek.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not selling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you calling?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they didn\u2019t contact me as your realtor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did they contact?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe title company.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho made the offer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Susan hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer Global.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonathan Mercer.<\/p>\n
The billionaire whose conception record Victor had tried to steal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do they want with my house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey say they believe records stored beneath the property legally belong to the Mercer family.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward Elaine.<\/p>\n
The old secrets were no longer staying inside our family.<\/p>\n
Jonathan Mercer had entered the story.<\/p>\n
And unlike Victor, he had billions of dollars, an army of lawyers, and a personal reason to make the past disappear.<\/p>\n
Raymond Bell was still in the hospital when we returned to Phoenix. Victor and Judith were in custody. Aaron Pike remained detained. Renee was cooperating. For the first time since … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18810"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18845,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18810\/revisions\/18845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}